The Summer of Tank Tops

I can't believe I finished another one... So, this is number 4 for this summer. I am kind of flabbergasted - in the past I have done more felting, accessories and mostly knitted for other people... So now here I am with things to wear - woo-hoo!

Since I got grief from a very dear knitting friend yesterday that my last post had NO pictures - and was a meme ;-) - I'll try to do better today and post pictures about knitting and the dogs that leave me no options and provide the additional fibers. So, here you are - tank top #4:


The pattern is from the SNB Nation book, called Accidentally On Purpose Drop Stitch. I used a soft, chunky 100% cotton yarn from Numei. The color is called High Energy Red and it sure is red. And - it is colorfast, yay! I tossed it in the washer and dryer last night with something white and it did not bleed. HA!

Here is a picture of my Entrelac Stole in progress:


I am using Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed and it is lovely to knit with. My first entrelac project ever and I am enjoying every little square. My goal is to have the stole finished for SAFF, so I can wrap myself in something warm in October in Ashville, NC.

I finished the back of my white short-sleeve sweater with the never ending cables-over-158-stitches pattern and started the front, so I wouldn't lose the groove again. I have a few more rows to go before I split for the huge v-neck.


I also started a scarf/stole/wrap thingy for the 4th of July with Knitpicks yarn called Sparkles. The color is called Firecrackers. It knits up pretty quickly - maybe I can finish it before July 4th. I am almost done with the first of four balls. It's done in a very simple pattern. You start out with two stitches and add one stitch on each row.


Now... here are the pooches. Hermione, our Border Collie, hates to be photographed. I sure feel like I am a Papparazzi chasing a celebrity. Just look at her face - like she is Greta Garbo saying: "I vant to be alone..." But Hermione actually does not want to be alone. She wants you to play and play and play with her, and if you don't follow her wishes, she also puts on the Great Garbo look.


Not so our other dog. Noah - the sweet Heinz 57, or as hubby recently said Heinz 8 - loves to be in the pictures. He seems to think something fun is going to happen (see his tail wagging?) and yes, the flash of the camera goes off - how fun...


Anyway - I did my posting duties for this week. I just realized I posted quite a bit. I am a lucky gal - I was told this morning that our office closes today at 1:30pm and won't reopen until July 5. How nice - a superlong weekend.

So, y'all have a wonderful 4th of July. Have a good time whatever you do! ;-) See you soon! Maybe sometime this weekend at a yarn store???

Senior Year - Revisited

Scary, scary, scary... That was 20 years ago this year and I can't be there for the reunion celebration on July 22 because it'll take place on another continent - in good ol' Germany. So, I found the following questionaire on Judy's blog. She is also an awesome sock knitter - go look at her blog.

1. Who was your best friend? Petra

2. What sports did you play? Volleyball & skiing

3. What kind of car did you drive? Didn’t get my driver's license until I was 26. I rode a bicycle or public transportation.

4. It's Friday night, where were you? At home - my Dad was very strict. My curfew was 11pm. Not worth going out...

5. Were you a party animal? Sometimes.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Nope.

7. Ever skip school? No.

8. Ever smoke? Tried once - was awful...

9. Were you a nerd? I thought I was because my parents would only pay for the cheapest prescription glasses which of course make you look like Woody Allen...

10. Did you get suspended/expelled? Nope.

11. Can you sing the Alma Mater? We don't have them in Germany.

12. Who was your favorite teacher? My French teacher - she was a fashionista and very skinny AND a great teacher. I majored in French - go figure.

13. Favorite class? Skiing. Yeah, I know... But where I come from (German Alps, remember?) you can pick skiing as your sport in High School. So, instead of being indoors, you go skiing at 11:00am for the rest of the day once a week. Fabulous!

14. What was your school's full name? Werdenfels-Gymnasium Garmisch-Partenkirchen

15. School mascot? I don't think we had one.

16. Did you go to Prom? Yes.

17. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Yes - if I knew what I know today about life, etc., I would go back and pick different majors and probably study more.

18. What do you remember most about graduation? We had a great party - not at the school but at one of the local dance clubs. We were banned from the school because the seniors wanted to out some of the teachers' Nazi history in the yearbook. And that did not sit well with the school administration - so we celebrated with only the favorite teachers at some other place. That was pretty interesting. My parents were there and Dad gave me a beautiful bracelet - now do I have a good memory or what?

19. Favorite memory of your senior year? The non-published yearbook.

20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall? Nope - I don't think we had such a thing.

21. Did you have a job your senior year? Yup - at McDonald's, with half of students of the senior class. That was actually a lot of fun - I also stopped eating food from McDonald's...

22. Who did you date? Christian. Two years my senior and now ex-husband #1.

23. Where did you go most often for lunch? Class was out at 12:45pm and I usually went home for Mom's good cooking. But we hung out during our free time at a coffee shop across the street from school called "Cafe Kneitinger". They had great milk shakes.

24. Have you gained weight since then? Yes, and lost some, too.

25. What did you do after graduation? I went to work as an assistant at a bank in Frankfurt, Germany.

26. When did you graduate? 1986

27. Senior picture: YES - You can actually find it on my blog, right here.

And I have to add some knitting questions - of course!

28. Where you knitting at the time? Yes - some of the teachers actually let me knit during class.

29. What was your favorite project? Sweaters - with all the vibrant colors, big intarsia patterns and puffy sleeves - it was the 80's...

30. What was your favorite yarn? A German brand - Wolle Roedel.

Harry Potter & Knitting

I am a big Harry Potter fan. Yes, I know, I am a grown woman but I love fairy tales. Coming from Germany, I inhaled the Brothers Grimm stories when I was little and I still have the book from my childhood.

So, this morning I found an interesting quiz - which I thought might interest you as well - if you like Harry Potter. Remember the sorting hat that puts all the little wizards into their respective houses at Hogwarts School of Magic? With the following quiz you can find out what house you would belong to. And here are my results - I was actually in a tie between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and I was asked a follow-up question. And I guess after answering that question the hat decided I was Gryffindor-worthy. ;-)


You scored as Gryffindor.
You value courage, loyalty, chivalry, and boldness.

Gryffindor - 73%
Ravenclaw - 73%
Hufflepuff - 60%
Slytherin - 48%

HP Sorting Hat created with QuizFarm.com

Also, my nephew in Germany is a big HP fan and at the moment I am working on a Gryffindor scarf for his birthday in October. Good thing I have some time left. I am knitting the scarf pattern from the first two movies - the one with the big stripes. I bought a very soft cotton yarn - Crayon - at Knitpicks (since the scarf can NOT scratch under any circumstances - otherwise my nephew will not wear it, little sissy...) in bright red (he is also a HUGE Ferrari fan) instead of the more scarlet red and a nice golden yellow. But looking at the Gryffindor crest, I guess I did pretty good with the red I bought.

So, I am on the fourth stripe of nineteen, ten red stripes and nine yellow ones... I am knitting 70 stitches on US #4 16-inch circular bamboo needles (I love bamboo with this yarn) - one stripe consists of 22 rounds.



And while searching for Harry Potter knits, I found a matching sweater with the Gryffindor crest on the front. So, finally I have an intarsia project again - the crest is worked over 53 stitches and 61 rows. I think that would be an excellent Christmas gift for the little cracker, don't you? I sure hope he appreciates Auntie's time and efforts. ;-)

How to Prepare a Knitter for the 4th of July?

So - what do knitters do on the July 4th weekend? Well, I know I am not going to eat any burgers (I don't eat mammals), but I am sure I won't starve.

Yes, of course, knitters go on a yarn excursion - let's call it a Tour de Yarn, shall we?

Pixie and I want to check out some yarn stores in the Big City. Since we live out in the "country" (OK, suburbs) in North Georgia, it's a good excuse - and Friday is pay day... OMG... I guess we have to take the dog leashes with us and try not to do too much damage to our credit cards. I can just picture us with choke collars holding on to each other's leashes... This is going to happen before July 4th...

SO - if you want to join us, here is our itinerary for Saturday, July 1:

Depart Gainesville/Buford around 10am (after guzzling up at Starbucks)
1. Stop – Cast-On Cottage
2. Stop – Strings & Strands
3. Stop – Lunch in Buckhead – location to be determined ;-)
4. Stop – Why Knot Knit

If we are not too exhausted after all the yarn fondling and signing of sales receipts, and we are still able to hold our pointy stix, we might hang out in a nice coffee shop for a while for some knits and purls.

If you are now very excited about this trip and you want to join us, no problem! Post a comment or email me and we'll all get together. If you live in the northeast suburbs of Atlanta as well and you want to carpool, I can take our "Knitty-Van" which has room for at least 5 other knitters.

NOW - on the 4th of July, Main Street Yarns & Fibers in Watkinsville hosts a BBQ. YAY - how perfect! Celebrate the Nation's Birthday on the patio of a yarn store.

They are open from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Come and join the store for a fun day of knitting, spinning, crocheting, and grilling on the patio. Main Street Yarns & Fibers will supply the hamburgers, hot dogs, rolls, and soft drinks. You can bring side dishes and desserts. They will start grilling at noon. BYOB and lawn chair.

AND bring a project - of course. Now for this event, I somehow magically convinced hubby to tag along. So, grab your non-knitter SO (significant other) and join the party. And again, let me know if you want to carpool from the Gainesville/Buford area!

OK - I was just racking my brain for something I knitted that is patriotic - and OMG, I do have something - OK, it's not for 4th of July, it is a Christmas stocking, but it's in the flag colors, so there! ;-)


HAPPY TUESDAY - I am actually off to a girl's night out with dinner & a movie - The Break-Up - with non-knitting friends. Yes, I have them and I spend time with them, too. Unbelievable, isn't it? :-) Well, this movie is not my first choice, but the girls wanted a chick flick and The Devil Wears Prada is not out yet. See ya!

Knitting Friends Are the Best!

I spent a great Saturday with Pixie last weekend. Totally relaxed, we hung out at the pool (which is actually big enough to swim laps - YAY) in her subdivision in the morning - naturally with knitting projects. Pixie was in the finishing stages of her cute ChicKami tank top - check out the pix on her blog. It looks great! And I got a bunch of squares done on my Lady Elizabeth Entrelac Stole. We had a lot of fun, bitched and stitched, of course. What more can you want? And - we did not get sunburned! HA! After the pool, we went for lunch and both totally craved Sushi, but those lazy people did not open their restaurant until 4pm. Way too late for us - since we would be knitting at that point with the SNB-NEGA knitters. So - a Mexican place got our $$$ instead. And after lunch we went knitting - and Pixie did a bunch of spinning, too - until 5:30pm. On the way home I picked up Sushi for hubby and me for dinner. So - HA - I got my Sushi fix after all.

Now - Pixie and I have a lot in common - besides knitting. One of the things - we have a habit of dropping our cell phones... So, I decided to make a little felted cell phone case for her. Of course, in some of her favorite colors - turquoise & brown - and also to match her knitting bag. It is a Bernat pattern (it is for members only - but the membership is free). It has a little handle with a star button, so she can attach it easily to any other bag or her belt etc. And here it is.


Since Noah decided to hang out with me while I was finishing up the cell phone case, I used his butt for modeling the unfelted case. ;-)

OK, OK - here is a better picture of the unfelted case - without a doggie butt...


And now the cell phone case after felting. I used one of my favorite CowParade cows as a stand-up aide. It is the "BLACK TIE DOG" Cow by George Rodrigue. It was introduced in 2000 at the Chicago CowParade and is now retired. You will not believe how much you have to pay nowadays for this highly collectible item (over $1,500)... Yeah - I can hear you - but this is just a little ceramic cow... Well - when there are collectors who really want something bad, you have a crazy market, even if it is just for a cow! ;-)


On Sunday I didn't do much since we actually had "bad" weather. Finally we got all the desperately needed rain our poor plants were waiting for - HURRAH! So, hubby and I hung out with the dogs and watched a couple of movies. And I got a bunch of knitting done.

I got back into the groove with the white cable sweater - here is a reminder:


I am almost finished with the back which is the biggest piece. The front has a huge V-neck. Anyway - I had not touched this project in a long while since I got pretty annoyed because it has so many stitches and so many cables. I guess, I just needed to get back to it with a fresh mind.

I also finished the Accidentally On Purpose Drop Stitch Vest from Stitch'N Bitch Nation. Now I have to sew it together and block it. I'll take some pictures once I have more FOs. ;-)

Have a great week!

Night Sky in Georgia

Now - I came home Friday night after a SNB-ATL knitting session around 9:30pm and after driving through the end of a long awaited storm with yummy rain - I took this picture of the sky... I was so facinated by its colors that I had to run inside, get the camera and run back out - who knows how much longer this would have lasted... I took several shots but they were all kinda crappy - so this is the best one. Pardon my shaking...



That's all - I don't have much more for the moment. A knitting update will follow after the weekend. At least I mentioned a knitting meeting in this blurb ;-) hehehe...

Meet Cousin Itt's Family

You know, this is typical... You give somebody a home and a few days later, his whole family knocks on the door and wants to live with you as well. I guess I run a pretty decent homeless shelter. ;-)

OK - let's get down to knitting business. I relieved Jane from some of her stash a while back and here are three more little felted purses I made from Lamb's Pride Bulky with some novelty yarn added here and there.

This is the Pink Panther purse - before and after felting:




Meet the Kermit Clutch - before and after felting:




I always liked Kermit - I think that green really would match his little green body perfectly. I felt so bad for him when I watched the Muppets Show (one of my all-time favorites when I was growing up) and he had to run from Miss Piggy most of the time. ;-)

And for the life of me - I can't come up with a clever name for this little guy - so, if you have an idea, tell me. Meet the Green Bag - before and after felting:




Hmmm... I really would like a name for this guy. Poor little fella...

So this is Cousin Itt's family. Can you believe that I forgot how much fun felting is? I guess it is true that Diet Coke is really bad for you. I am having severe memory loss... Anyway...

I have to share another picture. It is not exactly knitting related, but if you look closely, you can see something knitted in the picture. My SIL just emailed me the latest picture of my niece Julia. Finally the Germans have a little summer there, after all Summer Solstice was a couple of days ago. So, here is my adorable niece with one of the outfits I gave her. And her great grandmother threw in the sunglasses from the 50's.


Woohoo - stylish little princess!

Have a great weekend - hopefully we'll get some rain here in North Georgia. So far our grass in the front yard looks OK, but that can change soon with this dreadful heat and drought.

Stay cool and knit somewhere with air conditioning! ;-)

Lost in Space

Or to put it in other words, lost in the basket of UFOs was a white cotton tank top. Until last night... OMG - I knitted this top two (!!!) years ago and totally forgot about it all this time. Until last night - when I was looking for something else - and it fell into my hands. I remembered that after I finished knitting the back and front and after I added the little collar, I did not like it. But I forgot why I disliked it. Anyway - it was a perfect time to find it. We have very hot weather here just now - highs in the 90's. So, I sat down, weaved in all the ends, seamed the sides and voilà:


I am getting really old - I don't remember where I found the pattern. I think it was in a knitting magazine and I don't remember what cotton yarn I used. But I do know it is cotton and the color is white... Anyway - I am quite happy the way this turned out. Hubby took some great pix last night before the sun went away completely - almost magazine quality ;-) Hey, I like to brag about him every once in a while - he is a great guy!

And I also put some finishing touches on Cousin Itt, after he was done felting and drying. I am not sure if this is maybe the female version of Cousin Itt. Decide for yourself...


I am always amazed at how felting totally changes knitting. Very cool. ;-)

On Wednesdays I go to one of the SNB-ATL meetings in Gwinnett. I have a full bag of knitting with me - the Gryffindor scarf, the SNB drop stitch tank top and a felted purse. Think that's enough? Well - I couldn't decide and I brought the more mindless projects I am working on at present time. I learned the hard way that taking complicated knitting projects to a group where I chat a lot just ends in a ripping disaster. And I don't really need to invite misery, do I?

Well - this week is mostly over - 2 more days and there is another weekend around the corner. HA!

Any Given Sunday...

... that is like last Sunday, is a perfect Sunday for me. And here is why.

I wake up in the morning (and it is actually light out and the alarm did not go off...), turn around, open my eyes and look at this cute creature:


This is Hermione, our Bored-er Collie. If you move, you lose, because that means for Hermione that she can get ready for a day of constant play and attention. So, of course she tries to get our attention the minute we open our eyes. But no luck with Mommy, because Mommy like to sleep in a little longer on the weekend. Until 8am, PLEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE.... I have to get up super-early every weekday to go to work and get ahead of traffic into the Big City.

And then I need a cup of coffee or two or three - although I don't think I can ever drink enough coffee to get to Hermione's energy level. Anyway... the night before, we usually remember to put her toys in a basket and up on a table so she won't reach them before hubby and I get up. She knows that her toys are not allowed in the bedroom, but every once in a while she sneaks her favorite green ball in. Sneaky little pooch... Our other dog, Noah - you can see a black blur next to Hermione on the picture - is very content with just hanging out until everybody else gets up.

So, after getting up and the weekly phone call with my Mom in Germany (she always calls at 10am – German clockwork...), I spent some time knitting (and sunning) in the backyard and watching the dogs play. Noah gets pretty hot under his thick black coat – so after some playing, he hangs out underneath our deck:


And while I was in the backyard, listening to a suspense thriller on CD, I tried 5 times to cast on a new tank top – the Roundabout Leaf Tank from Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature. I couldn’t get the edges right and so I decided this is no good for now and I have to put it on the back-burner. SO – I so like this book, I figured, well, I’ll try another pattern and failed again. Oh well... It was time to go back inside anyway – I didn’t want to risk a sunburn – and on the way in I saw a cute June bug. Hmmm... how about introducing this bug to knitting?


After getting movies from Blockbuster (since Netflix does not have Fantasia in their inventory) and a stop at the nail salon, more knitting and watching a movie with Hubby followed. Life can be so nice and easy sometimes... Don’t worry – I don’t have many Sundays like this – so, I enjoy them when they happen.

I also finished a bunch of knitting projects – YUP – the UFO pile is shrinking...

Here is the Odessa cap, a pattern from Grumperina, which can be found at Magknits. I used Manos Cotton Stria, a pure Peruvian cotton kettle dyed yarn:




And as you can already see on the pictures above (hubby and I did a little photo session Saturday morning), I finished the pink tank top. It was a very close call – I was not sure if I had enough yarn (and I bought all 7 balls of Berrocco Softwist the LYS had)... I am sure you know that feeling. Scary, scary... But I did have enough - I have 9 yards left. (I just had to measure this small ball of leftover yarn.)




And then – please meet Cousin Itt. (Hubby sometimes names my felted purses.) This is Cousin Itt before his encounter with scalding hot water:


I have to add some handles and a button and then I'll post a picture of the little guy felted. Very cute, let me tell you. At the moment he is drying. ;-)

And of course you know me, I always start something new. Here is the beginning of the (Harry Potter) Gryffindor scarf for my 8-year-old nephew. Of course, I had Hermione pose with the scarf.


Hermione truly hates it when I take pictures...


Noah on the other hand, doesn’t mind. I don’t think there are many things that Noah minds. ;-)

OK – so this is what I did yesterday...

Have a great week! Hope to see you somewhere knitting in public. ;-)

Saturday Knit Fever ;-)

Saturday comes around and brings on one of my weekly highlights. Well, of course, for one thing I don't have to go to work and can just indulge myself with fun things. And then I go to Gainesville on Saturday afternoons to meet with the SNB-NEGA knitters. This is just an awesome group - last Saturday we had the biggest get-together since the group's existence: 12 stitchers - 2 cross-stitchers and 10 knitters - WOW. Here are some pictures.


From left to right: Jacquie, Jen, Amanda, Nicole, Susan, Julie, Ashley & Karen


From left to right: Ashley, Karen, Julie, me, Jacquie, Susan, Jen & Amanda


In the back: Julie, Ashley & Karen, Nicole (at the end of the table) and in the front: Amanda, Jen & Susan.

If you do a headcount, you'll notice that 3 knitters are missing. Somehow Ann and Daye are not in any of the pictures and Pixie was the photographer - we'll catch them next time. ;-)

It is really funny - at first the meetings started at 2pm and ended at 4pm. Now, some of us show up at 1pm or earlier and stay longer, until 5pm or later. Can't get enough of this knitting-in-the-group fix. ;-) The coffee house is great, too. Last Saturday our waitress pulled three big tables together for us and we had the entire room to ourselves. Very accommodating!

Hubby heard about an interesting quiz on NPR this morning. Are you a Yankee or a Rebel? - Go and take the quiz. The Alpha Dictionary will compute your score and tell you where you're coming from: are you (all) speaking Bubbaese or are you(se) a Yankee Doodle Dandy? The higher your score, the deeper from the South you are coming.

My score: 60% Dixie. Barely in Dixie.

Hmmm - well, very interesting. Remember - I am from Germany, a "farn" country, and moved here 6 years ago. Goodness gracious - how fast the Southern body-snatchers take over! Y'all have a great day - keep the stitches comin'! ;-)

Surfin' on the Net...

Finally this week is coming to an end and I can breathe a little easier. Speaking of surfin' - can I please go to the beach now? Like this one:


I actually took this photo, pretty good, huh? Last year in July, I visited my friend who lives on a small - really itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny - island in the Bahamas. Just a wonderful hang-out to do nothing but soak up the sun... OK - enough with the dreaming - what's happening in knitting-land?

I am almost done with the pink tank top. I am knitting with Berroco Softwist. Very nice yarn, the only thing that is a little annoying is that it has a tendency to split. But it is very soft and has a nice shimmer. I created the pattern with Sweater Wizard based on something I saw in a VERENA magazine. I hope to get it done before Saturday to show it off at the SNB-NEGA meeting.

Tonight I am teaching another knitting class - yes, all my sweater class students are "graduating". I had so much fun teaching this class. It is truly amazing how energetic and motivated knitters can be - no matter what their level of experience.

I am also almost done with the jungle top. The yarn is very paper-like and stretches more that I expected. I might have to hold it a bit more on each side. But I need to sit down with the project at our big dining room table where I have enough room to "operate".

Bad, bad famous Steve made me buy more yarn - such an enabler is he, as I've told you before. Now I am waiting to open a package with a bunch of Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed. Hehehe... Yes - Steve is the one that was knitting the beautiful Entrelac shawl last time I saw him, and he had the Scarf Style book. I got my copy the mail today, together with Knitting Nature and Knitting in Plain English.

And while surfin' on the net - I found this - courtesy of Nancy's blog:

Which Rat Pack Member Are You?
Hmmm, this is the result of my quiz. I am the boring one looks-wise (but at least I have brains, I guess...) I am not Sammy, Dino or Frankie - oh well.


BUT - I am really a sucker for Rat Pack members' music - even tho' this was way before my time. But Mom has a big Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra collection - go figure. And I remember watching a TV show (yes, some of them make it on German TV) with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis called The Colgate Comedy Hour. As a kid I thought these guys were pretty funny - I don't know if I would think the same about the show today. Nowadays I really can't watch Jerry Lewis any more - he is too goofy. But I sure love the Rat Pack movies. ;-)

OK, so now you've gotten a little bit more trivia on me, so off you go, get bored some other place! ;-) Have a great sunny weekend! AND KNIT!!!

WWKIP Day - What Fun!

So, here is the report on World Wide Knit In Public Day on Saturday, June 10, 2006. WE HAD A BLAST, to say it short and sweet.

Two groups, SNB-NEGA and SNB-ATL, joined forces around 12pm, and here are some pictures for you:

These are the SNB-NEGA knitters that showed up first:

Steve (Tammy's husband), Tammy, Jen, Ashley and me:



The famous Pixie and moi. Yup - I know celebrities :-)



Food, food, food, and some knitting!



Ashley, Pixie, Jacquie, Steve, Tammy and Jen:



And now there are more - some members from SNB-ATL found us: Jen and Jill in the back chatting, Ashley, Michelle, Travis (Katey's boyfriend), Jana (well, her curls), Jacquie, Katey, Karen, Tammy and Leon:



We also had a bunch of non-human visitors...



Meet E.T. for Extra Tiny - an adorable little cat. His foster mom, Jana, brought him along - of course, in a beautiful felted bag:



Here you can see E.T. sleeping blissfully on some Debbie Bliss yarn. Being tiny doesn't keep one from having GREAT taste ;-).



And here is E.T. again - I can't just get over how cute this little fellow is - with famous Steve in the back, working on a beautiful Entrelac shawl from Scarf Style. After browsing through Steve's copy of the book, I decided I needed one on my book shelf, too. Off I go to amazon.com... Again... All these enablers in my life...



OK y'all, that is what you missed on Saturday. Too bad. Some of the SNB-NEGA knitters decided that some of our future meetings should be outdoors. We just have to find the perfect spot with a cool breeze, nice shade and maybe even good seating. On the other hand, we can always bring some chairs and tables. Nothing can stop a knitter from getting comfortable and knit in public, right? Except maybe Atlanta summer heat. ;-(

And now for something completely gross - just to get you in the mood for lunch and show you what some of these crazy Southerners around me think about eating "healthy".

Hubby - who is a big fan of News of the Weird - emailed me a story about America's "Stroke Belt" aka the Southern States of the US. Do you know what a Hamdog or a Luther Burger is? Me neither, until I read the story. SO - just to completely ruin your appetite - here is a Hamdog:


Not the guy - what's on the plate... The dish, a specialty of Mulligan's Tavern, a suburban bar in Decatur, GA, is a hot dog wrapped with a half-pound beef patty, then deep fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions, and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries. You can read more about this delicacy here.

And then - the Luther Burger, also a specialty of the aforementioned fine-dining establishment:


This is a bacon-cheeseburger served on a split and delicately grilled Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Excuse me, I think I need to run to the bathroom now...... I know different people have different tastes, but this is just soooooooooooo abnormal! Anyway - maybe I should take the next Germans who visit to Mulligan's to show them some REAL GOOD Southern food and then right after I'll take them to an appointment with a heart surgeon...

Alright - on this note, be well and eat healthy. Have a great week!

Happy Friday in My Little Knitting World

Wonder why and care to know?

1. The weather is totally gorgeous – it is warm and sunny and I can’t wait to get out and do something outside this weekend.

2. Friday is SNB knitting at my favorite yarn store – Why Knot Knit. I call this knitting group my “adult” knitting group since we have beer and wine and snacks with the knitting – yay! Nothing better to slow down and get ready for the weekend at the end of a week at work.

3. The results of yesterday’s MRI are not too bad. Yes – my left knee still bothers me from time to time and during a check-up appointment on Wednesday the orthopedist prescribed a MRI to solve the mystery of the knee pain. So, I have a possible tear in my meniscus, the doctor says, and he put me on another four weeks of Naproxen for the pain and the inflammation. And then we’ll have to decide if I can live with the status quo or if he needs to dig into my knee. YUCK – I sure hope we can avoid another arthroscopic surgery. That would be the third one. SO – cross your pointy stix. :-)

4. Tomorrow - June 10, 2006 - is World Wide Knit in Public Day and I am going to meet up with a bunch of knitters at the Azalea Park in Roswell, GA. I will carpool with Jen - yes, we are being good girls and treat the environment nicely, of course. What do you expect of people who knit with natural fibers - OK, most of the time with natural fibers (I am also known to knit with outer-space fibers, aka acrylic). We will have a canopy for shade (dude – the forecast says 92 degrees Fahrenheit), chairs, tables, food, drinks and lots of knitting. If you read this and you are in the area, come join us. Just follow the needle-clicking and the roaring laughter. You can find directions on Katey's blog.

And then I found this interesting quiz on Mouse’s blog.

Congratulations! You are Catarina of Aragon. Catarina was Henry's first wife and was probably the only one of his six wives to truly love him. He got tired of her, and she spent the last decade of her life in lonely exile. Yet when she was dying, alone and unloved, she wrote: "Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire thee above all things. Farewell."



Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?
this quiz was made by Lori Fury
Well, if I would be in exile for ten years I sure would make a big dent in my yarn stash. But maybe poor Catarina of Aragon was not an avid knitter. ;-)

Check out this (yet another) amazing animal story I found online:

A mother tiger gave birth to a litter of cubs that died shortly after birth. As a result, the tigress fell into a depression. The vets thought she would improve if she could surrogate another mother's cubs, but none were available. The only "orphans" they could find quickly were a litter of piglets, so the zoo-keepers wrapped them in tiger skins and placed them around the mother tiger.


GREAT story, huh? Too bad it's an Urban Legend! For the real story, go to snopes.com.

OK – off you go now and have a wonderful weekend - mine starts in 2.5 hours!!! And I promise I'll take bunches of pictures at our Knit in Public event tomorrow.